


Echos Of The Last

by BlazeTheDemidragon



Category: Original Work
Genre: Gen, Giant Bird-Cat-Dragon things, Griffin-like creatures, Near-Extinction, Nonbinary Character, Original Character(s), Original Fiction, Original Species, Species War, There will be death, War, gay boy at some point, non-binary characters, pretty much everyone is queer, they're kind of fluffy?
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-10-28
Updated: 2017-10-28
Packaged: 2019-01-25 16:48:43
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 918
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12536492
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/BlazeTheDemidragon/pseuds/BlazeTheDemidragon
Summary: The Nyctea are a powerful race; creatures that resemble birds, cats, and hints of dragon in them, but they are their own separate entity altogether. They are powerful, living in a realm that was known as the Ancient Land. Most curious of all is their mental capabilities and their non-binary identities.Theo, though they were not always called this, is a young Nyctea, born before the Great Ink Rain even occurred. As they grow, their opinions of life and what truly matters will have to change as more die and fewer eggs are laid. Will the Nyctea die out completely, or will their kind last for just a bit longer?





	Echos Of The Last

**Author's Note:**

> Hello everyone.
> 
> I apologize for not updating Precedian since the gods know when, but I kind of lost interest in it and I've been looking for a way to get back into writing and actually posting things, and I guess this is it. This story is about a character that will eventually be featured in one of the books I'll eventually write, but I decided to work on the backstory to get a better feel of the character. The notes at the end will feature some fairly common notes about the Nyctea species as a whole, and regular chapters will contain me talking to you about what's been going on, or what might happen next. I might take awhile to actually post anything, as I'm currently in school, and there's a lot of work to be done. But I'll try my best with this one. Hopefully, a realistic goal of 12 chapters is short enough for me to write. I hope you all enjoy! 
> 
> Remember to comment and leave kudos to actually let me know you enjoy it.

_ Clack _ .  _ Clack _ .  _ Clack _ .  _ CRACK _ !

The egg, which had been rocking all day, with a spider web of cracks growing as time went on, finally developed a tiny hole. It was practically insignificant, but to the creature inside, it was a guarantee of life. Slowly, the creatures tiny beak; egg tooth shining in the dim light of the cave, further opened that hole until it was open though that the creature spilled out. It clacked its beak a few times, before wobbling to its tiny feet. It looked nothing like you would expect to find in nature, and yet it was the most natural thing that could be found.

Though it was a soggy mess, a larger shape moved closer to it, lowing their beak to the infant so that it might lean against it and find strength. Guided by instinct, the smaller creature touched their almost identical beak to that of the larger, and a spark ignited their mind where there had once only been fuzziness. Thoughts began to whirr with increasing speed, and the tiny creature squeaked at how much was happening.

_ “Hush, Little One” _ , a soothing voice that was not quite female, and not quite male echoed through his head.  _ “Calm yourself and all will be well.” _

The young one struggled to obey the advice of the elder, but gradually, they felt their thoughts simmer down. The memories that had once been chaotic and full of colors; blinding colors, had settled in their mind and now waited for their interest in them. It struck the creature as peculiar. Now, instead of being an “it”, they were a they. The title fit over them comfortingly, like that of the soft feathers of an Egg Layer’s downy feathers. The second thought confused them even more, but they realized the memory was that of their own Egg Layer.

_ “Egg Layer,” _ the smaller creature quietly spoke, unsure of their new ability.

_ “Yes, that is me,” _ the Egg Layer hummed, their vocal cords making no other tune but that.  _ “And you are Little One, for now.” _

Indeed, “Little One” seemed to fit the small creature as much as “they”, “them” and “their” had. It was a temporary feeling, something the creature already knew. The Egg Layer, for that, was what ze was, turned around and snatched something from the back of the cave in zer massive beak before delivering it to Little One. It was a rather abnormally large insect. But neither Little One or Egg Layer thought of it as such. To them, a beetle the size of a housecat kit was small and insignificant. Little One themselves was the size of an adult house cat.

Little One snatched up the glowing beetle, swallowing it as they jerked their head up and down, tilting it so the bug fell down their throat correctly, and they felt a purr rise in their throat as their downy fluff dried off, and they felt their own eyes begin to glow. They cast their eyes upon Egg Layer, who seemed pleased by this as ze gently tapped a talon from zer massive paw on the ground.

It made a comforting clacking noise, and Little One followed suit, but it was not nearly as loud as Egg Layers. Egg Layer moved to the back of the cave with Little One trailing after her. There was a massive nest composed of soft moss and feathers that had been plucked. There were shreds of dried plants on the bottom, making the structure. The entire thing was set up against a wall, with a small hollow that contained a single burning candle. The candle illuminated the hoard of books, so carefully placed on the other side of the cave, hidden out of sight from the place where Little One’s egg had been.

Egg Layer seemed particularly proud of the hoard, and ze dipped zer head into the breast of her feathers, preening them. It was then that Little One noticed zer feathers were a dark, dark blue. All different hues, with different patterns that made her massive cat-like body a gorgeous display. Ze had two tufts of feathers atop her head, reminding them of ears that could be found on a number of creatures. They were small, though. And incapable of movement. Unlike their own; which Little One quickly discovered, were capable of being flattened against their head.

_ “Sleep now, Little One” _ Egg Layer coaxed, as ze settled down on the massive nest. Zer feathered tail, which contained even larger feathers at the end, like a built-in feather fan, curled to zer side.

Little One bounded to zer side, their taloned paws relishing the soft feel of the nest. They laid down next to zer, curling into zer side. Zer tail covered Little One like a blanket, and they closed their eyes as they fell into the tongues of slumber.

But it was a slumber, unlike one you or I would fall into, for it was full of prophetic bits and pieces. Mere glimpses of the future, things that Little One could not retain currently, but would retain in time. One thing that held true for the three years they matured through, was the same element that plagued their prophetic dreams until they came true: terrible screeching from others of their kind, the scent of the ink that flowed through their veins and then an even more terrible silence as they dragged themselves to their paws, only to discover what ruin had been laid to the Ancient Land.

**Author's Note:**

> Nyctea Species Notes:
> 
> \- they resemble that of giant bird-cats with just a hint of my demidragon species that you can view on my DA  
> \- they do not possess what they call "blood", they possess "ink" and it shifts colors like oil  
> \- they are non-binary identifying creatures and don't actually have anything to define them as a certain sex, so that's a thing. on top of that, they can identify as hints of male or female, but not actually be full, binary male/female.  
> \- they hoard books like a dragon hoards gold  
> \- their eyes are a pure hue of whatever color they are (ex. Theo's are a dark blue), but their pupils are white and they glow.  
> \- they lay eggs  
> \- they tend to resemble different species of birds and can have feathers of different hues that aren't necessarily found in normal nature.  
> \- they do not give official names to each other, more of titles that change as they change and grow  
> \- they speak telepathically with each other for the most part but are capable of producing actual speech through their somewhat flexible beaks if they study books of a certain language for a few years.  
> \- they grow to be massive. the largest was the size of an elephant, with the smallest being as big as a large horse.  
> \- they have prophetic visions, particularly when they are dreaming.  
> \- they live for a very long time  
> \- they have very long, flexible bodies and possess wings. they can fly with these wings.  
> \- they're either strictly diurnal or strictly nocturnal


End file.
